Technology Improvement Plan Our school was blessed with a new grant for technology for the next 5 years below is my proposal for what we should to help build the technology in our current program. First off I want to say how lucky we are to have a technology grant funded for the next 5 school years there are lots of options our there for us to use the money towards. I think our main focus should be on new hardware acquisition, portable device acquisition, cloud based or web-based acquisition and technology workshops for teachers and administrators. New Hardware: There are endless options our there for new hardware as far as technology in the classroom. I think we should narrow our options down to a few that will have the most impact on student learning in the classroom. The following options for new hardware are what I recommend we look into:
Promethean Boards
Active Slates
Newer (Dell) Computers
Clickers
After much research I recommend that we spend some of our grant money on active slates. First off they are relatively inexpensive and can be found on multiple websites online for under $400 per active slate. These tablets are extremely valuable to our curriculum because they will help create 21st century learners by promoting active student learning in the class. These boards allow students to use the tablet to write on any power point or flipchart, plus teachers can use them to create interactive flip chart lessons for their classes. The only drawbacks that I have notices are that they do need to be charged about once a week depending on use, they also must be synched with the computer they are paired with, and that the charging cable can be troublesome. Many reviews and personal experience show that you have to be very careful when plugging in and unplugging the charger from the device because it is very sensitive and can break off in the tablet very easily. A strategy to assess its effectiveness in the classroom would be to buy a couple and start a piolet program with only a couple of teachers using them. Get feedback from the teachers and the students to see how affective they are at increasing students learning and from there decide if this is something that we want to instill school wide or not. The other hardware options are good but many of them cost tons of money and are hard to install or they only have one function for class instead of the multi-function capabilities of the active slate. I feel that the active slate is our best option to help create a 21st century classroom. Portable Devices: There hundreds options our there for portable devices for education, however with our current set up at school I have narrowed it down to only a couple options that I think will be best suited for our school. Given that our school already has a Wi-Fi campus and that we already use Google apps for education the following are some options that I am considering to purchase with the grant money from our education grant:
Chrome books
IPhone
Heart Rate monitors
Lap tops
All though It would be great if our school and this grant had the money for us to obtain all of these devices, I feel that our best option as a school is to purchase Acer chrome book CB3’s. First off they are only $160 per chrome book online which is very cheap considering that most laptops start at $400 and that though the IPhone is about the same price it has limited functions and does not have a keyboard. The curriculum values of the chrome book are endless, even though our school is already a BYOD (Bring your own device) school not all students have them and by having chrome books for the students without devices to use would be a major improvement. With this new acquisition all students would be able to access our GAFE (google apps for education) account and be able to join their different teachers’ google classrooms. This would allow them to use technology to help enhance their educational experience and collaborate with peers and teachers on the web during class. There are always drawbacks to portable devices. First off they have to be charged and ready every day and sometimes throughout the day so students can use them. As a school we would also have to keep track and log what devices we have and which students sign them out and make sure that they are always returned at the end of the day. Therefore we as a school will have to create some strategies to manage these devices. My first proposal is that we should only order these chrome books in class sets of 30, so that we can also purchase a device storage cart that will also charge the devices when not in use. We should also create a sign out sheet for students so that when a device is missing the teacher knows exactly what student had it last. As a school I think that we should have these devices stored in the library and that there should be a sign out sheet for teachers so that everyone has the opportunity to use this technology in the classroom. To monitor the effectiveness of chrome books in our school we should use an online survey (monkey survey) for educators to fill out to see the effectiveness or the ineffectiveness of these devices in the classroom. Since these chrome books are a portable device there are always concerns about safety in the classroom. First off students should always have to sign up and check out a device assigned to them so that the teacher can track and monitor what they are doing. The one great safety features that these devices have is that they must be connected to the internet using wifi. Whereas a student with an IPhone could get on their own cellular network, with chrome books the student must use their student ID’s and log into our protected safe school wide wifi. After much debate I think that the Google chrome books are a great asset for our teachers and students to have access to for everyday learning. Cloud Based Programs: With the technology and the devices students have in the classroom and at home I feel the need for our school to acquire a cloud or web- based system. By having this we could truly develop a 21st century learner where students would have access to collaborate with their peers and teachers no matter the time of day or if they are in class or not. Think about it, 20 years ago if you had a question with your homework and you weren’t at school and your parents weren’t able to help you then you were just plain out of luck. By acquiring a cloud or web-based program students and teachers would be able to collaborate and help each other even when not in class. Just imagine how helpful it would be if you had a problem with your homework and with the click of a button you could send your teacher a question and they could respond to you with information to help you solve the problem. Below are some options that I have considered for our school to acquire form our technology grant.
Google classroom/ Google docs
Live binder
3 ring
Edmodo
There are literally thousands of cloud or web-based programs out there for educational purposes. After must debate I feel that Google Classroom and Google docs is the best option for our school. First off it is FREE to use and sign up for. However many cloud based programs are free but with Google it gives each student a cloud with free space for them to save projects and documents for their classes. Where as many other cloud or web-based programs charge for space. I would like to say that all of these cloud/web-based programs are great and they are all free so it made my decision tough on what I thought was best for our school. Google cloud is a based program that is free for the public to use. By using Google in the classroom students would always be able to communicate with their peers and teachers, plus they would be able to save assignments and work on them with any device as long as they have an internet connection. Cloud based systems always have drawbacks, first off you must have access to the internet to use them, all though most of our students have internet access at home not all of them do. There is also the issue with data/storage, google only allows you to save so many documents, even though you can clear up space by deleting old things to make room for new ones. I must say from my personal experience I have yet to use up all my free cloud space and I personally save things on google docs on a daily basis. To access how effective this new program is in our school I recommend that we have only a couple of teachers or one department try it out as a piolet program. From there we can decide if this is something we want to use school wide. Since it is a free program we don’t have to worry about spending money on it. With using cloud or web-based programs there are always safety concerns. For starters students are using the internet and there are always safety concerns when online. Even though we have a secure network at school there are hackers out there that could cause problems with things being saved on the internet and there are always operator errors that once are saved can’t be changed using a cloud or web based program. After much debate and talk with teachers and administrators around our county I think that we should start a piolet program using google here at Windsor Knolls Middle School. Technology Workshop: With all of this new technology that we are introducing into our classrooms it is pertinent that all of our teachers are properly trained on how to use this new technology correctively and effectively in the classroom. Listed below are a few options that our school has to properly get our teachers on board with this new technology and how to create active student learning in a 21st century classroom.
Staff meeting after school
Team meetings during school
Curriculum meeting during teacher work days
Summer workshops
As a teacher myself there are multiple options out there for our staff to be properly trained on how to use this technology. I feel that there is no one right answer, and that the best way to train our teachers is to use our staff meetings every month after school and to use some of our teaming times during the school day. By doing this we are not spending any money and have more funds to spend on technology that directly effects student learning. If we use teacher work days then educators miss crucial time to prepare for classes and summer workshops are very expensive and not all teachers are able to attend them. The value of this is endless, there is no point in having this technology if the teachers teaching the classes do not understand it or are not capable of using it, and there is nothing more frustrating as a student to feel that you know more about technology than the person that is supposed to be your teacher. To see how workshop. There are a lot of teachers out there who struggle with technology so I think that it is important that all of this new technology isn’t laid on educators all at once and that they are allowed the time to learn and adapt to this 21st century classroom. Best Technology Practice Sharing for Teachers: Since we are trying to build 21st century learners for the future, I think that it is important for us as educators to set a good example. I feel the best way for use to share best practice technology use is to use our new technology by creating google doc that allows each teacher to edit the original document so that everyone can collaborate and at the end we will have a great bank of resources for teachers to use in their classrooms with students. Technology computer maintenance and back-up procedures. Our school is fortunate enough that we have a technology person at school all day to help trouble shoot and solve tech problems during the day. However as a school I think that every term each teacher should go through their email, and shared folders on the school server and clean it out. This will free up space and help our network work faster so that our students can reek the benefits in the classroom. As teachers we should clean and sanitize our hardware on a regular basis. All projectors should be cleaned each term, CPU’s and teacher laptops should be cleaned weekly and student device should be cleaned weekly if not daily if there is time. This will help reduce the risk of not only germs be spread around the building but will also help preserve the lifetime of our devices. Our school has been lucky in that we are the recipient of this technology grant and we need to take action so that our students have access to this new education. This will help us create 21st century learners for the future along with students who are career ready.
Resources Google. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2015, from https://www.google.com/#q=acer chromebook&tbm=shop&spd=11661767578719277721
Technology Improvement PlanOur school was blessed with a new grant for technology for the next 5 years below is my proposal for what we should to help build the technology in our current program.
First off I want to say how lucky we are to have a technology grant funded for the next 5 school years there are lots of options our there for us to use the money towards. I think our main focus should be on new hardware acquisition, portable device acquisition, cloud based or web-based acquisition and technology workshops for teachers and administrators.
New Hardware:
There are endless options our there for new hardware as far as technology in the classroom. I think we should narrow our options down to a few that will have the most impact on student learning in the classroom. The following options for new hardware are what I recommend we look into:
- Promethean Boards
- Active Slates
- Newer (Dell) Computers
- Clickers
After much research I recommend that we spend some of our grant money on active slates. First off they are relatively inexpensive and can be found on multiple websites online for under $400 per active slate. These tablets are extremely valuable to our curriculum because they will help create 21st century learners by promoting active student learning in the class. These boards allow students to use the tablet to write on any power point or flipchart, plus teachers can use them to create interactive flip chart lessons for their classes. The only drawbacks that I have notices are that they do need to be charged about once a week depending on use, they also must be synched with the computer they are paired with, and that the charging cable can be troublesome. Many reviews and personal experience show that you have to be very careful when plugging in and unplugging the charger from the device because it is very sensitive and can break off in the tablet very easily. A strategy to assess its effectiveness in the classroom would be to buy a couple and start a piolet program with only a couple of teachers using them. Get feedback from the teachers and the students to see how affective they are at increasing students learning and from there decide if this is something that we want to instill school wide or not. The other hardware options are good but many of them cost tons of money and are hard to install or they only have one function for class instead of the multi-function capabilities of the active slate. I feel that the active slate is our best option to help create a 21st century classroom.Portable Devices:
There hundreds options our there for portable devices for education, however with our current set up at school I have narrowed it down to only a couple options that I think will be best suited for our school. Given that our school already has a Wi-Fi campus and that we already use Google apps for education the following are some options that I am considering to purchase with the grant money from our education grant:
- Chrome books
- IPhone
- Heart Rate monitors
- Lap tops
All though It would be great if our school and this grant had the money for us to obtain all of these devices, I feel that our best option as a school is to purchase Acer chrome book CB3’s. First off they are only $160 per chrome book online which is very cheap considering that most laptops start at $400 and that though the IPhone is about the same price it has limited functions and does not have a keyboard. The curriculum values of the chrome book are endless, even though our school is already a BYOD (Bring your own device) school not all students have them and by having chrome books for the students without devices to use would be a major improvement. With this new acquisition all students would be able to access our GAFE (google apps for education) account and be able to join their different teachers’ google classrooms. This would allow them to use technology to help enhance their educational experience and collaborate with peers and teachers on the web during class. There are always drawbacks to portable devices. First off they have to be charged and ready every day and sometimes throughout the day so students can use them. As a school we would also have to keep track and log what devices we have and which students sign them out and make sure that they are always returned at the end of the day. Therefore we as a school will have to create some strategies to manage these devices. My first proposal is that we should only order these chrome books in class sets of 30, so that we can also purchase a device storage cart that will also charge the devices when not in use. We should also create a sign out sheet for students so that when a device is missing the teacher knows exactly what student had it last. As a school I think that we should have these devices stored in the library and that there should be a sign out sheet for teachers so that everyone has the opportunity to use this technology in the classroom. To monitor the effectiveness of chrome books in our school we should use an online survey (monkey survey) for educators to fill out to see the effectiveness or the ineffectiveness of these devices in the classroom. Since these chrome books are a portable device there are always concerns about safety in the classroom. First off students should always have to sign up and check out a device assigned to them so that the teacher can track and monitor what they are doing. The one great safety features that these devices have is that they must be connected to the internet using wifi. Whereas a student with an IPhone could get on their own cellular network, with chrome books the student must use their student ID’s and log into our protected safe school wide wifi. After much debate I think that the Google chrome books are a great asset for our teachers and students to have access to for everyday learning.Cloud Based Programs:
With the technology and the devices students have in the classroom and at home I feel the need for our school to acquire a cloud or web- based system. By having this we could truly develop a 21st century learner where students would have access to collaborate with their peers and teachers no matter the time of day or if they are in class or not. Think about it, 20 years ago if you had a question with your homework and you weren’t at school and your parents weren’t able to help you then you were just plain out of luck. By acquiring a cloud or web-based program students and teachers would be able to collaborate and help each other even when not in class. Just imagine how helpful it would be if you had a problem with your homework and with the click of a button you could send your teacher a question and they could respond to you with information to help you solve the problem. Below are some options that I have considered for our school to acquire form our technology grant.
- Google classroom/ Google docs
- Live binder
- 3 ring
- Edmodo
There are literally thousands of cloud or web-based programs out there for educational purposes. After must debate I feel that Google Classroom and Google docs is the best option for our school. First off it is FREE to use and sign up for. However many cloud based programs are free but with Google it gives each student a cloud with free space for them to save projects and documents for their classes. Where as many other cloud or web-based programs charge for space. I would like to say that all of these cloud/web-based programs are great and they are all free so it made my decision tough on what I thought was best for our school. Google cloud is a based program that is free for the public to use. By using Google in the classroom students would always be able to communicate with their peers and teachers, plus they would be able to save assignments and work on them with any device as long as they have an internet connection. Cloud based systems always have drawbacks, first off you must have access to the internet to use them, all though most of our students have internet access at home not all of them do. There is also the issue with data/storage, google only allows you to save so many documents, even though you can clear up space by deleting old things to make room for new ones. I must say from my personal experience I have yet to use up all my free cloud space and I personally save things on google docs on a daily basis. To access how effective this new program is in our school I recommend that we have only a couple of teachers or one department try it out as a piolet program. From there we can decide if this is something we want to use school wide. Since it is a free program we don’t have to worry about spending money on it. With using cloud or web-based programs there are always safety concerns. For starters students are using the internet and there are always safety concerns when online. Even though we have a secure network at school there are hackers out there that could cause problems with things being saved on the internet and there are always operator errors that once are saved can’t be changed using a cloud or web based program. After much debate and talk with teachers and administrators around our county I think that we should start a piolet program using google here at Windsor Knolls Middle School.Technology Workshop:
With all of this new technology that we are introducing into our classrooms it is pertinent that all of our teachers are properly trained on how to use this new technology correctively and effectively in the classroom. Listed below are a few options that our school has to properly get our teachers on board with this new technology and how to create active student learning in a 21st century classroom.
- Staff meeting after school
- Team meetings during school
- Curriculum meeting during teacher work days
- Summer workshops
As a teacher myself there are multiple options out there for our staff to be properly trained on how to use this technology. I feel that there is no one right answer, and that the best way to train our teachers is to use our staff meetings every month after school and to use some of our teaming times during the school day. By doing this we are not spending any money and have more funds to spend on technology that directly effects student learning. If we use teacher work days then educators miss crucial time to prepare for classes and summer workshops are very expensive and not all teachers are able to attend them. The value of this is endless, there is no point in having this technology if the teachers teaching the classes do not understand it or are not capable of using it, and there is nothing more frustrating as a student to feel that you know more about technology than the person that is supposed to be your teacher. To see how workshop. There are a lot of teachers out there who struggle with technology so I think that it is important that all of this new technology isn’t laid on educators all at once and that they are allowed the time to learn and adapt to this 21st century classroom.Best Technology Practice Sharing for Teachers:
Since we are trying to build 21st century learners for the future, I think that it is important for us as educators to set a good example. I feel the best way for use to share best practice technology use is to use our new technology by creating google doc that allows each teacher to edit the original document so that everyone can collaborate and at the end we will have a great bank of resources for teachers to use in their classrooms with students.
Technology computer maintenance and back-up procedures.
Our school is fortunate enough that we have a technology person at school all day to help trouble shoot and solve tech problems during the day. However as a school I think that every term each teacher should go through their email, and shared folders on the school server and clean it out. This will free up space and help our network work faster so that our students can reek the benefits in the classroom. As teachers we should clean and sanitize our hardware on a regular basis. All projectors should be cleaned each term, CPU’s and teacher laptops should be cleaned weekly and student device should be cleaned weekly if not daily if there is time. This will help reduce the risk of not only germs be spread around the building but will also help preserve the lifetime of our devices.
Our school has been lucky in that we are the recipient of this technology grant and we need to take action so that our students have access to this new education. This will help us create 21st century learners for the future along with students who are career ready.
Resources
Google. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2015, from https://www.google.com/#q=acer chromebook&tbm=shop&spd=11661767578719277721
Google. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2015, from https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=promethean activslate60&tbm=shop&spd=15107788556966957222
FCPS High Schools Rank High. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2015, from http://www.fcps.org
Interactive Whiteboard Systems. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2015, from http://www.prometheanworld.com/us/english/education/products/interactive-whiteboard-systems/
ActivSlate - Wireless control for the whiteboard from anywhere in class - Promethean. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2015, from http://www.prometheanworld.com/us/english/education/other-interactive-products/activslate/
Dell Official Site - The Power To Do More | Dell. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2015, from http://www.dell.com/
Clicker & Audience Response Systems - iClicker. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2015, from https://www1.iclicker.com/
Google Chromebooks. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2015, from https://www.google.com/chromebook/
Shot on iPhone 6. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2015, from https://www.apple.com/iphone/
Heart Rate Monitors. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2015, from http://www.heartratemonitorsusa.com/heramo.html?gclid=CJW0-Z7-l8UCFefm7AodPwcAqg
Acer | Explore Beyond Limits. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2015, from http://us.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/home#_ga=1.124038665.228027465.1430189359
One account. All of Google. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2015, from https://classroom.google.com/ineligible
Create documents. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2015, from https://www.google.com/docs/about/
When you are ready to deliver -don't put it in a box. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2015, from http://www.livebinders.com/welcome/home
Home. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2015, from https://threering.com/
Get Secure Account. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2015, from https://www.edmodo.com/